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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27952280">immortality tastes like human</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_andromeda/pseuds/Princess_andromeda'>Princess_andromeda</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pandora Hearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alice tries to eat Gilbert bc his head is made of seaweed. she's a mermaid. she knows her seaweed, Except maybe uncle oscar from being buried in sand, Gen, Mermaid Alice, especially bc xai didn't tag along, everything is cute and nothing hurts, they go on a road trip! it goes well</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:16:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,753</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27952280</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_andromeda/pseuds/Princess_andromeda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>On a road-trip to celebrate Ada's sixteenth birthday, she and her family go to a beach villa owned by the Vessalius. There, something that is definitely not a crab bites Gilbert.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ada Vessalius &amp; Oz Vessalius, Alice &amp; Oz Vessalius, Gilbert Nightray &amp; Oz Vessalius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Pandora Hearts Reverse Bang 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>immortality tastes like human</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hallowoween/gifts">Hallowoween</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was for the PH Reverse Bang! I had fun with this prompt. As with all Bangs, it is companion to a fanart, and the one I picked was proposed by Hallowoween! They are fantastic and we discovered we had a thing for yanderes that made us fall for Vincent ( ◡‿◡ *) For some reason, though, he doesn't really have much dialogues here (I think he doesn't even have one...?)</p><p>Anyways, enjoy! I'll edit this in a couple of minutes to link Aile's fanart.</p><p>EDIT: <a href="https://twitter.com/hallowoween/status/1336188708169510915">here</a> is the fanart. it's really cute! Go check it out and leave Aile some luv 🙈</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Gilbert was the first to notice something was wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oz,” he voiced as he closed the basket he had brought their lunches in. “Did you eat all the meat I grilled?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His friend didn’t answer for a second, and when his expression turned sheepish Gilbert felt relieved. Almost.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, my bad. I might have grabbed a piece or two before we departed.” He scratched his nape, his tongue sticking out. “But there should still be enough for you to eat.” He leaned over Gilbert’s shoulder to peek into the box, and his expression blanked when he noticed there was nothing there. “Or not. Uh, Ada…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His sister had been looking the other way, seemingly more interested with the way the climate was warmer on the shore, and letting the salt air clean her nostrils. But when she heard his voice, her head turned immediately to him, a slight frown on her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t eaten anything Gilbert made. I thought we were going to wait until mealtime?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had planned this trip with months anticipation, a roadtrip to a beach house the Vessalius’ owned. It was Ada’s sweet sixteen birthday, and instead of a fancy party, she had requested a little get-away to the beach, where they could escape the suffocating warmth of summer in the city and the rains that left the streets humid for days on end. Xai had been all too happy to comply with her request, planning different activities they could do, food they could eat, sights they could see—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until Ada had also requested they bring Oz along for the ride. Then his attitude towards Ada’s birthday get-together did a 180. He cancelled the reservations to the restaurants he had made, citing he was busy with some issues within the company, and asked his brother instead to take care of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t like Ada disliked uncle Oscar—quite contrary, actually, since he spoiled Oz and Ada so much—but there was something disheartening about the lengths their father was willing to go to ignore Oz. He never outright did something to harm her brother, and actually provided food, shelter, education, and comforts other people wouldn’t be able to afford. But in all her sixteen years of life, Ada couldn’t remember a single moment their father had spared to listen to Oz about his school life the way he did to her, or for a school recital, a sports event… anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So far, everything had gone well enough. Oz had decided to bring Gilbert along (because why not), and Gilbert had asked to bring his brother along (around whom Ada foud it hard to keep a straight face). Uncle Oscar had driven all the way to the beach (even if his music choice was cringeworthy), made sure they had settled in their rooms, and prepared something light for dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next day Gilbert had been the first to wake up, as he was already used to helping Oz with his day. When they were younger and Gilbert had just been rescued by their uncle Oscar, Ada had joked about how the way he followed Oz like a lost puppy resembled a servant following his master. This specific sceneario had been used in various play-pretends both boys had throughout the years, and even if Gilbert’s ouright idolization of Oz had decreased to a mere admiration, old habits like his mother henning died hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And hey, if Gilber offered to cook his delicious food, then Ada wasn’t complaining. There was a reason Oz took so much advantage of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe uncle Oscar ate the meat while we were preparing our things for the beach?” Ada suggested. Along with her beach clothes and towel, she had brought a book to entertain herself with while the sunscreen dried on her skin. Oz had brought a small bucket and a shovel to build sandcastles, Gilbert was the one in charge of their food, and Vincent had… scissors. When they had asked, he said “to cut plastic stuck on fishes”, but neither Vessalius sibling had been too convinced by that answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gilbert looked back to the spot near the house where uncle Oscar was taking a nap. “If he ate all the meat, wouldn’t it be better if we unburied him? Won’t he choke?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oz and Ada looked at the small silhouette of their uncle buried in the sand with a mermaid tail and seashell bra. So far, he looked quite comfortable there, would it be okay to wake him up to try and ease a possible stomach ache?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think he’ll be fine.” Oz didn’t sound very convinced. “And if he gets indigestion, he deserved it for not even leaving a little steak.” His small chest puffed indignant, Ada giggled and Gil’s eyes softened at the sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I guess I can go back to prepare some sandwiches.” Vincent walked to the house with him, leaving Ada and Oz sitting near the waves lapping at the shore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ada breathed in and laid back on her towel, letting the warmth of the beach relax her muscles. “So how’s the Holy Knight adaptation? I heard from Leo that you and Elliot were rather… excited about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately, Oz’ eyes lit up like a switch and his voice rose an octave higher. “It’s going great! I’m going to play Edgar, of course. We’re looking for people to make costumes, though. Getting those Victorian Era-esque clothes is harder than I thought! At this point, I’m considering looking for a seamstress. But the screenplay is good, and we’ve been practicing a lot, so I think it will turn out great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmmm I think I know someone who can help with the costumes.” When Oz’ eyes glistened like a puppy’s, Ada giggled and rolled on the towel. “I’ll talk to them once we get back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oz agreed, and then fell into silence for a couple of minutes. Only the sound of the waves crashing and the wind until Gilbert came back with a plate of sandwiches cut into triangles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to swim a little if that’s alright.” He looked a little sheepish for some reason. Oz tilted his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not eating first?” Gilbert shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already ate while I was preparing them, and it’s getting quite hot.” As if to prove his point, his hair was tied back. Even if the attempt at a ponytail was shorter than half an inch. He walked to the water and let the waves wash his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be careful!” Oz warned with half a sandwich in his hand. He started munching on them happily. It wasn’t a steak, but it was still Gil’s cooking and it was really darn good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey didn’t we have a volleyball set in the supply closet?” Ada asked after a couple of seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If they haven’t thrown it away. Do you want to take it out tomorrow?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both chewed on their food, quite happy with how the day was turning out, until they heard a yelp not far from them and they watched Gilbert flail and fall into the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gilbert!” Oz got to his feet in a second, leaving his sandwich on the plate. Ada was a little less frantic about it, but still rushed to wipe the breadcrumbs from her lips and run to the water as fast as she could. Before they could reach him, though, Gilbert had surfaced from the water. He looked spooked and was drenched from head to toe, but it didn’t look like he was in grave danger. Still Oz grabbed his arms to support him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you get a cramp?” Asked Ada. After all, he hadn’t waited twenty minutes to go swimming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gilbert shook his head, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. “Something bit me. In my foot.” He mumbled. “Didn’t uncle Oscar say there weren’t any sharks in the area?” Oz frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. That’s why our family chose this area to build the beach house.” He looked to Ada, then back to Gilbert. “Did you see anything?” The water wasn’t too dark in this part yet to be unable to see their legs, and it wasn’t too deep to not step on the sand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes! It looked like a shark.” Oz bit his lips, but even if he wanted to joke about it maybe being a crab that found his foot appetizing, if there was actually a shark, Gilbert could get more scared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe the shark confused your foot with food until they realized you’re actually not?” He suggested. After all, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jaws</span>
  </em>
  <span> wasn’t really to be trusted with shark accuracy. Shark attacks were rather scarce, and the ones that did happen were accidental, oftentimes when they confused humans with other prey. “Let’s get back to make sure the bite isn’t bleeding.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They got to the shore, and found that Gilbert’s foot was indeed bleeding. Three small pin-prick incisions where droplets of blood escaped. It was better than it looked, fortunately, but they should still try to stop the bleeding. Ada took to drying his foot with the towel before wrapping it in a kerchief, both her and Gilbert were so focused on it they didn’t notice the way Oz’ face paled behind them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, guys…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it, brother?” She tied the kerchief and noticed the way her brother was staring at the beach. She followed his gaze and felt her face pale too. “Oh.” On the surface of the water a pair of pink eyes were staring at them. When more of the face surfaced, Ada couldn’t quite contain her little shriek.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Alice and her sister Alyss had been orphaned from a young age, since their mother and uncle had been mersharks, they had to constantly fight for territory and died while fighting a group. And so they had been left with their father, an angler fish who loved to tell stories to their small shoal in the abyssmal area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both sisters, despite their similar features (sans the tails and Alyss’ lantern), were different as can be in terms of personality. Alice was outgoing and loved to explore, while Alyss would rather stay at home and practice weaving nets. This showed in their ability, because while Alice’s nets were precarious at best, Alyss’ were elegant and she hadn’t gotten better at shaping them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Up above,” Levi had told them both once, “there are land-wanderers. Instead of tails they have two feet that carry them wherever they want, and since fire isn’t extinguished there, they cook their food with it and spice it with plants. I once heard of a meat so juicy from these spices it makes your mouth water.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After their father had told them this story, Alice had become absolutely obsessed with the idea of cooked food. She loved the thrill of hunting, after all, she had also been born a mershark, and the taste of blood was her favourite. But if there were better foods on the surface, she wanted to try them!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so one day she tried to convince Alyss to go with her, but her sister hadn’t been too comfortable with the idea of leaving. Her light was pretty useful for attracting prey, but other than that and her net-weaving ability, she wasn’t made to fight like Alice was. There were harsher fishes in the surface area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alice had been a little bummed at her sister’s refusal, but had been adamant on going. And so she swam to the surface, where she encountered surprisingly little predators.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The surface was different than she had imagined. There was so much light she had to spend a couple of hours underwater to get used to it, and then some more before she could poke her head out of the water. The air was so much thinner than the water, and she felt light-headed for a couple of seconds. Then she adjusted and she felt the sun on her scalp, so warm and her eyes became half-lidded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her first hours on the surface were uneventful. She found a rock where she could sunbathe on, and there were plenty of fish on the surface area, so she wasn’t left without a meal either. She spent half a day more before she noticed land-wanderers near the shore she was residing in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she watched them swim near the area, she could help but remember another story her father had told them, about a mermaid who had eaten land-wanderer meat and afterwards returned to her village and never aged. Could land-wanderer meat really provide immortality, or was it some tale her father had invented? Only one way to find out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While they were distracted burying the whale land-wanderer, she approached the big shell they had left near the shore. That shell took surprisingly little effort to open, and soon she could smell such a delicious aroma it made her mouth water. Could this be the legendary cooked meat her father talked about?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sunk her fangs into it, tearing into each and every little piece inside. It was so delicious her fin flapped against the sand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she went back to the water and spied them from behind a rock. And when one of the land-wanderers (the one with seaweed on his head) had swum in the water, she decided to test her second theory: did land-wanderer meat provide immortality?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bit into the fin of the land-wanderer, and spit it out immediately after. It tasted horrible! Eternal life was worth nothing if it didn’t taste heavenly like their cooked meat. She swam back a couple of meters, as they got them out, and he poked her head out of the surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She saw some more food near their shell and their tightly-woven nets, so she decided to be bold and approach them. Once she was on the sand, her movements were more slow. Her eyes were curious, and they didn’t look away from the land-wanderers’ faces as she approached the food they had in there and ate it little by little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It tasted different than the meat she had devoured before, but it didn’t taste bad. And her expression soon was filled with wide-eyed awe. After she finished the not-meat-but-tasty food, she grabbed some sand between her hands, pressed it hard, and gave it to them when she managed to turn it into a pearl, her smirk showing a little too much fang.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Oz watched nervously as the creature emerged from the ocean. When it reached the shore, he noticed the shark fin it had in its back. Ah, so it was some sort of shark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t help his gasp when he noticed it was a mermaid. So the creatures in Ada’s books were real, after all! He watched curiously as the mermaid approached them, even moreso when the mermaid started eating the sandwiches they had discarded when checking up on Gilbert.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oz looked from the empty plate to the little pearl in the mermaid’s hand, then to the empty basket. An idea shone in his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you eat our meat?” He asked, and the mermaid smiled before nodding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then that smile was a little too mischievous, it was the kind of face Oz was weak for. So he helped his friend up and said: “Gilbert, can you cook more meat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gilbert looked flabbergasted. “Eh? She tried to eat my foot and you want me to prepare her meat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oz pouted and laid besides her, pouting in a way he knew his friend was weak for. “But look at her, she must be so hungry to come here. And we brought so much meat, there won’t be a meat shortage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gilbert sighed, and Ada seemed to share his exasperation, in her gentle way. “How are we taking her inside the house?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oz smiled and got up. “We have a wheelbarrow in the back. Hold on a second.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not a minute later he was back with the wheelbarrow. He grabbed their abandoned bucket and filled it with water, then placed it on the wheelbarrow, until it had enough water to keep her wet. And then he carried the mermaid into it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ada, can you help Gilbert to the house?” It wasn’t such a big wound, but it looked like he needed the comfort. “I’ll wheel her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ada nodded, and watched as the mermaid made some excited noises from the wheeling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All in all, it had been a good birthday. Such a shame she was a mershark, otherwise she might have considered asking for a scale or two for experimental charms.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As a matter of fact, sharks do have scales. But they're not really scales? They're like, cheese grinder, and feel rather soft when you rub them the right way. But on reverse say bye-bye to your hand. They supposedly make sharks swim faster, but since idk much about the physics of swimming, you would probably be better off Googling how shark scales work.</p><p>Things that got deleted from the original draft but that I would have loved to have on the final work:<br/>-Vincent threatening to chop and cook Alice for biting his brother<br/>-Alyss playing with Chesire (a cat-fish!) in the abyssmal area of the ocean(?).<br/>-In this AU, Ada got into magic bc Oz was kidnapped when they were small and she was told the dwarves did it. Or something like that, I forgot to write it down adkncso<br/>-And ofc, Ada trying to make protection spells out of Alice's not-quite-scales scales.</p><p>there's also a lot of mermaid lore that I forgot to mention, lol. I'm borrowing the Japanese legend that eating mermaid flesh will grant immortality and flipping the script (did Levi tell that story bc of some weird mermaid belief? did he do it out of boredom? that's for you to choose) and some Chinese mermaid lore that merfolk weave nets and make precious stones, like the pearls Aile included in the fanart🥺</p><p>Might post them on twitter, idk.</p><p>Anyways:</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/princesandrmeda">My twitter♡</a><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/mamsiir">Aile's twitter♡</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hallowoween">Aile's art acc♡</a> (follow them on both!)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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